DNA Transformation into Bacteria

Transformation, in which DNA is incorporated into a bacterial cell, is a key step in many biological and pharmaceutical applications. Modified DNA can change the phenotypic characteristics of an organism, such as thermal stability, or it can be used to turn a bacteria into a drug-producing factory. The process requires cells that can pass DNA through their cell wall, ie. competent cells. Currently, the two general approaches to transform cells are heat-shock and electroporation. Hudson has developed a number of automated systems that transform Bacterial cells using heat shock-based protocols.

The Hudson SOLO™ liquid handling robot is an automated pipettor that can do anything expected of a hand-held pipettor, perfectly. It is about half the cost of other laboratory robotics platforms and has options of 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 microplate nests on the deck. The SOLO will fit into most biological safety cabinets, anaerobic chambers and fume hoods. The SOLO can be loaded and operated manually, but is also compatible with robotic arms from most manufacturers, including our PlateCrane EX. The small footprint and open design of the SOLO automated pipettor provides easy integration with accessories, such as heating and cooling nests, incubators, magnetic bead nests, automatable centrifuges, microplate readers and more. Our SoftLinx lab automation software has software Plug-ins to over 200 3rd party lab instruments.

The RapidPick MP is the fastest, most accurate automated multi-pin colony picking system in the world with over 99% inoculation rates and typical speeds of picking over 2,400 bacterial colonies per hour. The small footprint saves lab space, allows for easy cleaning and fits into anaerobic chambers for microbiota research and biosafety hoods. The RapiPick MP is at the heart of the Complete and Lite systems which include robotic plate loading, media filling as well as other features, such as plate sealing in the RapidPick Complete Workcell.

The RapidPick MP is intended for researchers who need the accuracy and high outgrowth rates of the RapidPick colony-picker, but whose workload doesn’t require the added automation available in the Complete or Lite systems.